It Was Only One Time
by tazlvr2001
Summary: Emily shows up on JJ's doorstep after an argument with her boyfriend, Patrick.  Story contains mentions and descriptions of Domestic Violence and you'll see that Emily is not portrayed to have as much confidence in herself as she does on the show
1. JJ Help Me

**AN: So I sat down at my computer with every intention of starting a prequel to my story "Finally Together" and this story came out. It is AU Emily. ****You'll see that she is not portrayed to have as much confidence in herself as she does on the show**** Please give it a chance. This story does contain mentions and descriptions of Domestic Violence. **

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Emily waited outside the front door of her JJ's house hoping that she was home. She really needed a friend now, and she didn't know who to call. She knew that Morgan and Garcia were out on a date. Although they still thought the team did not know they were seeing each other, they were profilers after all, and they witnessed the change in Garcia from her depressed state, when Kevin left the FBI and essentially their relationship as well, to her normally, bubbly self. Only one man, rather Chocolate Adonis could make that happen. Emily was truly happy for them and just biding her time for when she could call them out on the relationship.

The team had the week off since they just returned from a grueling month long case. Reid was in Vegas visiting his mother and Rossi took off to his cabin to do some hunting. Hotch, well Emily didn't really want to interrupt Hotch and his week off that he was enjoying with his son. The year anniversary of Hayley's death just passed and she knew that Jack was having a hard time.

So that left JJ.

"_Henry LaMontagne do not open that door until I get there."_ Emily smiled as she heard JJ's voice through the door. She remembered JJ complaining yesterday how Henry had become very interested in opening doors and drawers.

"You know if you would lock the top lock that wouldn't be a problem," Emily called through the door.

"Em," JJ greeted her with a smile.

"Aunt Emmy," Henry exclaimed as he clapped his hands.

"Hey buddy," Emily greeted him, giving him a hug and releasing a small gasp when he touched a sore area.

JJ heard the gasp and saw the look that Emily tried, but failed to cover up. "Henry, Aunt Emmy and I are going to go into the kitchen and talk for a little while. Can you go and finish watching Nemo for me?"

"Nemo!" the boy happily screamed as he ran into the living room and watched the movie. Both women laughed at the joy and exuberance in the two year old.

JJ motioned with her head for Emily to follow her and the two women walked into the kitchen. "So what's up?" asked JJ. "Strauss gave us the week to reboot after the last case. Why are you here in my kitchen on a Saturday morning when you should be at home with Patrick starting your week off in bed?" Emily stayed silent and looked down into the coffee mug that JJ had placed in front of her five minutes ago. "What's going on, Em?"

Emily looked up, shook her head and plastered a fake smile on her face. "Nothing is going on Jayje. Just a little tired from this last case. It was a long one and brutal."

"Now tell me the truth." Emily looked up briefly at JJ with shocked eyes and then turned her hear to stare out the window. Internally, she willed the tears that were threatening to flow to stay within her. "Come on Emily. I know I was never trained to be a profiler, but I picked up on a few things working at the BAU and I know you as a friend. There is something wrong." Emily shook her head. "Is it Patrick?" She saw Emily's shoulder tense and knew she was right. "Did you break up?" No change in Emily. "Did he hurt you?" Emily took a deep breath in. "Emily," JJ pleaded.

"This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here." Emily stands up and turns to leave.

"Emily." JJ reaches for her friend's hand.

Emily turns around fast and pulls her hand from JJ's grasp, "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Emily backs up into the wall that was behind her and cradle's the hand JJ previously held to her chest.

JJ put both of her hands up and said quietly, "It's okay, Em. I'm sorry."

"What's going on in here," said Will as he entered the kitchen.

JJ could see Emily trying to force herself to control her breathing as she looked back and forth between her and Will. "Nothing, babe. We're okay in here. Can you take Henry to the park, please?"

"You sure?"

"It's alright. I need to talk with Emily. Please, just take him."

"Alright darlin'" Will gave JJ a kiss on the cheek and then whispered in her ear, "Give me a call if you need me."

"I will." JJ waited to hear Will and Henry leave for the house. At the same time, she kept her eyes on Emily who had now sat back down at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. Once the two women were the only people left in the house, JJ sat in the chair next to Emily. "Emily?"

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," she answered, still with her hands hiding her face. JJ could see a purplish bruise on the wrist that she had grabbed before.

Closing her eyes briefly to contain her anger at the man hurting her friend, JJ softened her voice and asked, "What happened Em?"….silence…. "Is this the first time he hit you?"…silence… "I'm calling Pen."

"No." Emily looked up at JJ with red, puffy and pleading eyes.

"Why shouldn't I call her?" JJ asked grateful that her friend was finally saying something.

"She's with Morgan. Please he can't…" Emily shook her head and wiped the tears that started to fall from her eyes.

"Are you worried what Morgan will do when he finds out?"

"JJ he introduced us. Patrick is his friend. He can't find out that…"

"That what, Emily? That his friend likes to get physical with women? Come on Emily, you know what Patrick did was wrong."

"I should have just called more when we were away on that case. He wouldn't have been so angry with me. I just came over here to give him some time to cool off. It normally takes a few hours and then I can just go back home. I just didn't know where to go. He usually leaves." Emily didn't even realize the rambling that she had just done was heard by JJ.

"Usually?" JJ asked with raised eyebrows.

"What?" asked Emily, the question bringing her out of her trance.

"You just said that, 'He usually leaves.' How long, Em? How long has he been hitting you?"

Emily looked into JJ's eyes pleading with her to stop the questions, but she knew her blond friend just wouldn't do that. Giving a slight nod, both to show JJ and herself that she will 'tell all', Emily answered, "This is the first time."

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**So what do you think? more chapters to follow.**


	2. Ok I'll Go

**Thank you for all of your reviews and alerts to this story. I welcome all inputs into this story. **

**I dedicate this chapter to kdzl - Thanks for your input.**

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"Let me see your wrist," asked JJ. Emily held out the wrist to JJ that was not hurting. "The other one, Em."

Emily held it close to her chest and shook her head slightly. "It's fine."

"Please, Emily. I just want to check and make sure it's not broken."

"It's not broken. I can move it."

"Please, Em."

Reluctantly, Emily held out her right arm to JJ. JJ lifted the sleeve of the sweatshirt and Emily hissed a little when JJ's fingers inspected the bruise. She couldn't look at JJ. She was afraid to see the resentment in her friend's eyes that she was sure was present.

To the outside world, Emily was this headstrong, confident, strong daughter or politically involved parents. In reality…behind closed doors…she carried with her a tremendous guilt from her abortion that she had when she was fifteen. Moving around a lot and her teen pregnancy led Emily to have huge self respect problems. She sees herself as weak. She feels like she doesn't matter. Her parents were never around to show her that she did matter, so why would she believe that? Emily's belief in herself and that she mattered only started to build once she joined the BAU.

But that was all ripped from her once again and torn apart as her relationship with Patrick grew more serious. It started out with just small things, little arguments that were always her fault. Emily seemed to always know what to say at each moment to spark the "loud discussion." She always said that wrong thing or did the wrong thing. A few times it was because she had come home late from work. Each time their discussion would end with Patrick getting too frustrated and leaving the house, only for him to come back a few hours later to an extremely apologetic Emily.

JJ let out a frustrated breath as she looked over her friend's hand, "I don't think it's broken, Em, but maybe you should go and have a doctor look at is just to be sure."

Emily shook her head. "No, JJ, they'll let Hotch know. It will go in my file. I can't let them see how much a failure I am. God, Jayje. I'm a trained behavioral analyst. I should have seen this coming. I should have known that it would escalate to this."

JJ's eyes widened as she heard her panicked friend's remarks. She knew that Emily would freak out, but JJ needed to call in some reinforcements. Quickly and discretely she sent a text to Garcia – **Need you at my house. MAJOR man problems with Em. Bring Morgan.**

Once she was sure that Emily's rant was finished, JJ spoke calmly to her friend, "You, Emily Prentiss are in no way a failure."

"But…"

"No, no buts." JJ looked at her phone as she read the reply – **be there in 10**. "You were falling in love, Em. There is no failure in that. You were happy. I witnessed some of those arguments that you had in the bars. The whole team did. No one saw this escalation. Not even Derek and he has known him for ten years. If you feel that you are a failure, than you are calling, me, Morgan and everyone else on this team a failure. Do you really believe that Pen didn't use "her babies" to check on him when you first started out? You know that she can find out anything on anyone. Do you believe we are all failures?"

Emily lowered her head and looked at her coffee once more. "No." The soft whispered word escaped her lips.

"Then you are also not a failure."

The ringing of Emily's phone broke the moment of silence. Emily recognized the ring tone immediately, "It's Patrick. I…I don't think I can handle talking to him right now"

"You don't have to answer it, Em. You can let it go to voicemail," JJ assured her friend.

Emily shook her head, "He gets mad if I don't answer his call."

Emily picked up her phone to answer it, but JJ placed her hand gently over them. Looking her friend in the eyes, JJ again said, "You do not have to answer it." The phone stopped ringing and JJ could see the slight fear that was present in Emily's eyes. "You're okay. You will be okay, Emily."

"My little blonde angelfish where might you and wonder woman be?"

"How badly has my boy screwed up?" teased Morgan.

"JJ," Emily whined. "I told you not to tell Pen. I don't want to inconvenience them."

"You need support and friend's right now, Em," JJ answered her. "In the kitchen," she called out to her friends. Emily lowered her head as she heard Garcia and Morgan enter the room.

"I knew it was a mistake coming here," mumbled Emily as she pulled her injured wrist close to her chest, hoping to keep the bruises hidden.

"What's going on?" asked Garcia as she sensed the tension in the air.

Emily shook her head, still afraid to look up and see the disappointment in her friend's eyes. Yeah, JJ told her that they would stand by her and support her, but hearing it from JJ and hearing it from them are just two vastly different things.

Garcia sat in the chair on the other side of Emily, sandwiching her between her closest, her only girlfriends. "Are you okay, Em?"

"I'm fine. JJ shouldn't have worried you. I just had a small argument with Patrick. It's not a big deal. It was silly really. I forgot to call him before we took off to come home."

Morgan looked his friend over. He could see her flushed cheeks. There were some tear tracks there as well, and it looked like she was cradling her wrist. "What's wrong with your wrist, Em?" When he got no response from Emily, he turned to look at JJ with questioning eyes.

JJ once again filled her voice with compassion, "It's alright, Em." Still Emily kept silent. "Emily we are your friends. We care about you so much. You are always there for us when we need you. Let us be there for you."

Emily looked into JJ's eyes and saw the supportive strength that was present. Slowly she extended her hand and placed in on the table for her friends to see. Garcia gasped and Morgan inhaled deeply, "Patrick did this?" he asked.

The damn broke once more as Emily's head nodded slightly, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen. It's all my fault."

Garcia placed her hand on Emily's chin and moved her face so that the brunette was now looking at her. "This is not your fault. Don't you dare take the blame for this."

"I'll be right back," Morgan angrily said.

"Where are you going?" asked Garcia.

"I'm going to have a talk with Patrick."

"No, please don't." Emily said with a little fear in her voice. She knew that if Morgan went after Patrick, it would only lead to another fight and who knows what else.

JJ stood up from her seat and layed a comforting hand on Emily's upper back. "Morgan, we need to take Emily to get checked out. Going after Patrick can wait."

"I don't want to go," said Emily.

"You are going," Garcia countered.

"I'm fine. I don't want to go," said Emily.

"Why don't you want to go?" said Morgan.

"If I go, then it becomes part of my medical file and Hotch will be notified. Please I didn't even want you guys finding out. It was just an accident."

"Emily, are you hurt more than just the wrist?" asked Garcia.

Emily shook her head. "I'm fine, really. I'll just take some aspirin when I go home."

"Please, Em. I know there are probably more injuries than that wrist," said JJ. She saw Emily about to object and held up her hand. "Don't you even try to deny it. I heard that little gasp when Henry gave you a hug. I think it would be best if you got everything checked out. I know you're worried about everyone finding out, and I understand you wanting to keep it all private. We're not trying to make you do something that you don't want to do, but Em, you need to make sure that everything is okay. We are going to be with you every step of the way. It's your time to lean on us for a change."

"Okay," Emily whispered. "My stomach is hurting a little but, so I'll go. Morgan, do not go after Patrick, please." Emily stood slowly from her seat.

As she let a grimace show on her face, Morgan clenched his fist in anger. "Calming himself down before he spoke, he answered, "I will be with you at the hospital the entire time, but if he hurts you again, I will not let you stop me."

The group of four left the house and climbed into Morgan's car. Emily sat in the passenger's seat, while JJ and Garcia sat in the back.

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**I would love to hear what you think.**

I'm not going to  
tell you what to do, but we are your friends, and we want to be here for you  
just like you would be for the rest of us.


	3. The Exam

**Ah the trouble with real life. so sorry for taking so long to get this posted. Thanks for all of the alerts and reviews. I am horrible at replying to them, but know that I truly appreciate them all.**

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JJ and Garcia led Emily to the waiting room chairs while Morgan approached the nurse at the admitting desk. Holding up hi s badge he smiled at the woman, "I'm SSA Derek Morgan. I have with me my colleague who needs to be checked out. She was assaulted."

He nurse, Sally, looked over his shoulder at the three women that walked in with him. "Sure, Agent Morgan. She can come back and I'll leave her forms with you to start and fill out. Whatever you can't answer can wait till after she's checked out."

"Thank you." Morgan took the papers from her and turned towards his friends. He nodded his head towards the exam area and Emily stood up.

JJ and Garcia watched their friend cautiously. They both wanted to go with her, but they knew that was a decision she needed to make on her own. Emily walked halfway to the room before she stopped and turned back to the women. "Jayje," she looked down at her feet, "could you…umm." Emily took a deep breath.

"Do you want me to come back there with you?" JJ asked.

Emily's shoulders sagged with relief and she nodded at the blonde. "Please." JJ gave a reassuring smile and stood up to join Emily.

Morgan walked over to where Garcia was sitting and held up the paperwork. "I think between the two of us we get these filled out. What do you think, Babygirl?" Garcia patted the chair next to her and gave him an affirmative nod.

Inside the exam room…

Emily looked towards the gown that the nurse had left for her to change and bit her lower lip. JJ noticed the hesitation and asked, "Do you want me to wait outside while you change?"

Emily shook her head, "No. I think I'm going to need your help changing."

"Alright, I'll stay. Why don't you see how far you can get and when you need me just ask," JJ answered.

JJ watched as Emily began to remove her sweatshirt. She was only able to lift her arms to her shoulder level before she lowered them back down and muttered a slight, "Help."

JJ walked up to Emily. "I'm right here, Em. I'm going to lift the shirt up and over your head from the back, okay? Then I'm going to slide it off your arms." Seeing Emily's nod, JJ grabbed the shirt and slowly lifted the shirt off, being careful to not cause Emily any more pain than she was obviously in. JJ's eyes widened at the bruise she saw over Emily's ribcage. Deep inside, she was upset at Emily for being so stubborn when she had refused to come to get checked out, but she did her best to cover that up and just give her best comforting smile to Emily.

Five minutes after Emily was changed, a doctor walked into the room, "Agent Prentiss? My name is Dr. Katz."

"Hello," Emily answered. "Emily is fine." She gave the doctor a small smile.

"Alright Emily." The doctor returned the smile and looked towards JJ.

JJ extended her hand to the physician, "Jennifer Jareau. JJ. I work with Emily."

"It's alright if she stays here, right?" asked Emily with pleading eyes.

The doctor smiled at her. "Of course. If you want her here she can stay. If at any point you want things to be a little more private just stop me."

"Thank you," said Emily.

"So, Emily, what brings you in to the ER today? I see the bruised wrist. Did this happen on the job?"

"No, this is not work related. Do you have to notify them?"

"It all depends on the result of the exam, alright?" Seeing Emily's nod, the doctor started her exam and looked at Emily's wrist. She noticed a bruise that she saw too many times in some women. "Can I examine your wrist?" Emily held out her arm to the doctor. Emily gasped when the doctor touched a sensitive spot. "Sorry," the doctor apologized. "Good news. It's not broken, but I'd still like to send you for some ex-rays to make sure that it's not fractured. Are there any other injuries?"

Emily looked over towards JJ, she saw her friend nod showing her support and Emily slowly pulled up the hospital gown revealing her bruised stomach. "I'm sorry," Emily whispered to JJ with tears in her eyes.

"I am going to keep telling you this until you finally get it in that stubborn head of yours Em. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault," JJ responded.

Emily could only nod as she watched the doctor's hands feel around the injury. A slight hiss escaped Emily's lips and the doctor quickly apologized. "Good news is that I don't think any ribs are broken, but I'm going to order ex-rays of that area as well."

Emily nodded and bit her bottom lip, "And the bad news?"

"That, I'm sure, you already know. Pain." The doctor smiled at Emily and the brunette let out a small chuckle at the doctor's bad joke. "I'll send someone in shortly to take you to get your ex-rays taken."

"Could JJ come with me?"

"If that is what you want, Emily. She can accompany you to the room, but she will have to wait for you out in the hallway."

Emily let out a breath of relief, "That's fine."

The doctor left the room and JJ walked over to the bed, "How are you doing?"

"I know that look she had on her face. She's going to call Hotch, isn't she?"

"Honestly?" JJ asked. Seeing Emily's pleading eyes, JJ nodded, "Probably. You are a Federal Agent that admitted to her that your injuries were not job related."

"Would you have let me say that they were?" Emily bit her bottom lip.

"Do you really need to answer that question, Emily? Do you know how much paperwork is added for me and Hotch to do when someone on the team gets hurt? I love you Emily like a sister and I am going to be with you all the way while you deal with this, but I am not looking to punish myself or Hotch with paperwork." JJ could barely finish the statement as she was giggling through it all. Emily chuckled along with her friend and then gripped her bruised side. "Sorry," JJ apologized.

"I didn't want to make a _federal case_ out of this," Emily said with a frown.

"I know Em. You know that doctors have to report if they suspect domestic violence." Seeing Emily about to say something, JJ held up her hand. "Even if it wasn't Patrick that did this to you, by being a Federal Agent this becomes a Federal Case. I know I don't have to tell you this. Domestic Violence or just an attack on a Federal Agent doesn't matter. Hotch and Rossi will be called because they are your superiors, and probably Strauss."

Emily groaned and placed her hand over her eyes. "I don't want any of them in here, Jayje. I just don't want to talk to them. Please, don't let them in here. God, this is going to ruin everyone's vacation. I should never have gone to your place. You could be at the park right now with your son and Will, Hotch wouldn't have to cut his time short with Jack."

"Emily…"

"Rossi wouldn't be called away from the hunting trip he was so looking forward to…"

"Emily…"

"…and Reid, oh JJ, please tell me he's not being called away from his visit with his mom."

"EMily…"

"Morgan and Garcia wouldn't have had their not-so-secret date interrupted. Oh, he's going to hate me for making his friend lose his temper so much. I need to see him. I need to apologize to him and…"

"EMILY STOP."

JJ's raised voice finally stopped the rant that was coming from her friend's mouth. Emily cringed at the anger in her friend's voice and lowered her head. JJ closed her eyes in frustration at seeing Emily's actions to her raised voice. Gently, she reached for Emily's chin and lifted her head until their eyes met. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I am not mad at you, and I, nor ANYONE, hate you for what Patrick did to you. It is not your fault, and I don't care if I have to go hoarse and record my voice saying that over and over again till you finally believe it."

Tears filled Emily's eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime. I can't promise that the guys won't be mad." JJ could see Emily's eyes widen. "It's not anger at you, but at Patrick and what he did. They might be upset with you for not saying anything sooner, but they will never hate you for that okay?"

A knock on the door interrupted the friendly moment and Emily looked up as two nurses walked into the room. "We're here to take you for your ex-rays if you are ready."

Emily nodded and the nurses approached Emily's bed and unlocked the wheels and pushed the hospital bed down the hall with JJ holding onto Emily's hand.

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**Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this.**


	4. Enter Hotch and Rossi

**So sorry for the delay in this update. Here is the next chapter.**

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"My name is Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. I received a phone call that one of my agents, Emily Prentiss was brought in here."

"One moment and I'll get the doctor."

"Thank you."

Morgan looked towards the nurse's desk when he heard his supervisor's voice. Squeezing Garcia's hand he stood up and walked over to meet Hotch. "Hotch."

Hotch turned towards the familiar sound, "Morgan, what they hell is going on?"

"Patrick, man. He got physical with Emily yesterday. She showed up had JJ's this morning with a bruised wrist and she was doing a bad job hiding what I'm hoping are just bruised ribs," Morgan answered. The anger and guilt was so clear in his eyes. Anger for what Patrick did to her, and the guilt was because he felt responsible since Patrick is…now was….his friend and he brought the two of them together.

"What happened?"

The trio all turned to see David Rossi walking towards him. Hotch was the one to explain this time about what had happened. "He's been hitting her?" Rossi asked with anger.

"From what JJ told me," answered Garcia, "This was the first time, but they have gotten into arguments before."

"Where is JJ?" asked Hotch.

"She's with Em. I have never seen her like this Hotch. Emily is being very quiet, avoiding eye contact. The only action I recognized from her is her refusal to come here. We all know how much she hates hospitals."

"She's feeling guilty for it happening," said Rossi. "Probably believes it's all her fault."

Morgan nodded, "She does. She said he got angry this time because she forgot to call him to tell him we were on the way back from the case."

"This happened yesterday?" Rossi asked with wide eyes.

Before a reply to the question could be made, Morgan's cell phone started to ring. Looking down to see who called he spat out, "It's him."

"Don't let on that you know what happened. See what he says," advised Hotch.

Morgan nodded and answered the call, "Hey man. You are supposed to be enjoying time with your girlfriend and not harassing me."

"_That's what I was calling you for, Derek. We got had a little argument last night when she got back from the case. I left to clear my head and when I returned to her place this morning she wasn't home. I've been waiting a few hours and she hasn't returned. I even tried calling her a few times and she is not returning my calls. Have you heard from her?" _

Morgan closed his eyes for a second and bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from screaming at the man he once considered a friend. Balling his free hand into a fist, he managed to answer him without showing his anger, "Nah, man. You know I was out with my girl all afternoon. Haven't heard from her. I'll try and track her down for you. Maybe she'll answer my calls instead. I'll call you back when I talk to her."

"_Don't worry about it. I'm sure Em just needs some more time to cool off. She'll get back to me soon."_

Morgan could hear the uneasiness in the man's voice as he grew worried that Emily would tell about how far their argument actually went. "Alright, if you are sure than I'll let it be. Call me if you change your mind."

"_No problem. I've got to go," _Patrick quickly ended the call.

Morgan looked up at his colleagues. He filled them in on his conversation with Patrick. "He was afraid that Emily would tell you that he hit her," said Hotch.

"She wouldn't," said Garcia. "We all know that Emily is so damn private that she would just hide it from us. I just thank God that she went to JJ's this morning and that she is able to get checked out. We know about this and we will protect my raven-haired beauty from her no good meanie of an ex-boyfriend."

"Dave, call DCPD let them know about the situation. I want Patrick off the streets before Emily is released from the hospital." Hotch then turned to Morgan, "Call Reid. Fill him in on what is going on."

"She doesn't want that, Hotch," said Garcia. "Emily didn't want any of us to find out. There is no investigation here. No UnSub. We know it's Patrick. There's no need to interrupt his time with his mother."

Hotch shook his head. "He has to be notified." He looked to Morgan. "Fill him in and give him the option of coming back or staying. I'll make sure the time off request is put through if he wants it."

Morgan nodded and left the hospital to make the call. "You know he will come back tonight," said Rossi. Hotch nodded.

Ten minutes later Morgan returned from his call and assured them that Reid was indeed taking the next flight out of Vegas and returning to offer his support to Emily. Rossi also returned from making his call and informed them that movements were being made to arrest Patrick. "Agent Hotchner?" The group turned and looked at the Doctor standing near them. Hotch stepped forward and introduced himself and the other three that were standing near them. "I'm Dr. Katz. I am taking care of Agent Prentiss."

"How is she?" asked Garcia.

"Very strong willed," the doctor answered, receiving a chuckle from the group. "My preliminary exam of Emily revealed that she has a badly bruised wrist and also some bruised ribs. I've sent her down to get some x-rays and when I get those results back we'll know for sure. Agent Jareau is with her now. When she returns from getting the x-rays, you'll be able to go and see her."

"Thank you, Doctor," said Rossi as he shook the doctor's hand.

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JJ looked over at a silently thinking Emily. They had returned from getting her x-rays a few minutes ago and Emily had not spoken since she made sure that JJ wouldn't leave from outside the x-ray room. "How are you doing, Em?" Emily stayed silent. "Come on Em. Talk to me."

Emily looked down at her hands. She smoothed the blanket beneath them. "I need to get out of here."

"You will. Once Dr. Katz takes a look at the x-rays, she's going to release you."

Emily shook her head. "No, I need to get out of here now. I have to talk to Patrick and apologize to him. I shouldn't have ignored his call before. He's just going to be mad. I need to get out of here Jayje."

JJ sat down on the bed and took Emily's hands in her own. "Emily you are one of my best friends. I think of you and Pen as sisters, so I need you to listen to me and understand me when I tell you that I don't want you to go back to Patrick. I worried about you."

"There is no need to worry Jayje. It was only one time. I had some time to think this over while getting the x-rays done. I saw the hurt in his eyes after he did it and before he left the house. He knows that he went too far. We'll be alright."

JJ fumed inside. She knew that her friend could have a nasty stubborn streak. But, she could be just as stubborn and she knew five other people that would also show their stubborn ways to Emily. Taking a deep breath, JJ decided that she had no other choice but to push Emily. She just hoped that her decision was the right one. "You cannot possibly be thinking about going back to Patrick, Em. He hit you."

"It was only one time."

"Your wrist is bruised and your ribs are starting to get a nasty color on them as well."

"It was only one time." Emily's voice broke as she repeated the mantra. Tears started falling down her cheeks. "I am not a weak person. I'm not going to run away from this just because he lost control one time, JJ."

JJ hated doing this, but she just pushed further. "Emily listen to yourself. The stuff you are saying right now is straight from the text book on domestic abuse victims."

"I am not a victim."

"Then stop acting like one. Remove yourself form the equation and think like a profiler. A female has several vocal arguments with her boyfriend that escalates to the point where he hits her. What happens next if she stays with him?"

Emily knew what JJ was implying. She knew JJ was referring to the idea that the abuse would just get worse. "That's not going to happen to me."

JJ grew angry at her friend, "Listen to yourself. You sound like a textbook example of Battered Woman Syndrome. Emily you think leaving Patrick is the weak thing to do? No, it's not. Staying with Patrick is the weak thing to do. You are stronger than that, Em. Much stronger. You are the strongest woman I know. Prove to me and to all of us. Staying with Patrick does not make you strong."

"You are not a profiler, don't you try to profile me," Emily's eyes showed anger at the words that left her friend's mouth.

"I can bring in three profilers in a second if you want me to, and they'll tell you the same thing, Emily. Staying with Patrick is the easy thing to do because walking away from him will be hard and you don't want to do that. So you'll just go back to him and he might really be sorry about what he's done, and things will be great for a while. Then the cycle will just start all over again. A few arguments and he'll hit you again."

"No. It was only the one time. He won't do this again."

Tears were flowing from both of the women's eyes as they both reigned in their feelings. JJ wiped the tears from her eyes. "Are you sure of that Em? Are you one hundred percent sure that this will never happen again? Because if you are not one hundred percent sure then you need to walk away from him now."

Emily's lips quivered from the overwhelming emotions running through her mind. "I still love him, Jayje. Is that wrong?"

JJ shook her head. "No, honey it's not wrong."

"I don't think I can just walk away from him on my own."

"You won't be alone in this, Em. We are all here to help you through this, but you have to make that first step. You have to make that choice that this is what you want. I can have Morgan run in here, fling you over his shoulders and keep you prisoner in some safe house, but that won't do anything good, except maybe keep him from his constant teasing of Reid."

A small smile appeared on Emily's face.

"Ah, there is the smile I was hoping to get," JJ let out a small chuckle. "So, what do you say? Come and stay with me while your bruises heal."

"I couldn't do that to you JJ. You've got Henry to worry about. You don't need me as well."

"Nonsense, Em. Henry won't be a problem and he has been asking when the next time his Aunt Emmy would be spending time with him. Please, let me do this for you?"

"What about Will?"

"I already talked it over with him when I was waiting outside the x-ray room. He is the one that actually suggested it."

Emily's let a small smirk appear. "Agent Jareau, were you breaking hospital policy and using your phone inside?"

JJ looked at Emily seriously, "It was a great importance. It just couldn't wait." Both women couldn't hold their straight faces anymore and started to laugh. "Well?" JJ prodded some more once the laughter died down.

Emily once more looked at her face. "It's going to very hard for me to keep from contacting him. But, you are right JJ. I can't say that I am one hundred percent sure that this will never happen again. I think…No, I know that I am going to need help, and if you are sure than I will like to take you up on the offer." Emily wiped at the tears that started to fall from her eyes.

JJ wrapped her arms around Emily. "You are not alone, Em. I will be with you every step of the way."

"We all will."

JJ and Emily broke apart from their embrace and turned to the door to see Garcia standing there and the other guys from the team, minus Reid. "Hey guys," Emily said softly. The group walked further into the room. Emily looked up at Hotch. "I'm sorry that your time with Jack was interrupted. I tried to get them to not inform you."

"I know," said Hotch, "and it's not a problem. Jack understands. I told him that you were hurt and he started pushing me out the door and demanded that I take him to Jessica's so that I could get the bad man that hurt you."

They all chuckled and JJ joked, "See, you've got all of the men in this crazy family worried about you."

Emily looked at her friends and could see Morgan looking down to the floor. A look of worry on his face. "Don't go there Derek." He looked up at her with shocked eyes. "If I can't feel sorry for myself and blame myself for this, than neither can you. What happened is not your fault."

"He's my friend," Morgan stated.

"And my boyfriend," countered Emily. "He's not supposed to betray you by being like this with someone you introduced him too, and he's not supposed to verbally…and…physically hurt someone that he says he loves. I don't blame you at all. Please don't blame yourself because I am going to need your help." Emily looked at JJ and squeezed their joined hands and gave a small nod and smile before she looked at everyone in the room. "I am going to be staying with JJ and Will once I get out of here. Heaven help me, I still love Patrick and it's going to take all that I have in me to keep myself from running back to him. I might…no, I _will_ need all of you to help me get through this."

"We will be with you every step of the way," said Rossi.

"Even Reid wants to help," said Morgan. "He is on the way back."

Emily shook her head and pulled her hands from JJ's grasp. "I didn't want that. I knew this was going to happen. We have the week off and all of your plans were thrown out the window because of me."

Rossi walked over to the bed and sat in the chair near it. He took hold of Emily's hand and looked at her. The team knew there was a connection between the two profilers. It wasn't love or desire. More like a father/daughter connection, a void that they filled for each other, Rossi never having children with any of his ex-wives and Emily never having a father that showed her real parental love. "Nothing is more important than the safety of our family. Do you think Reid would have been happy to hear that this happened to you and he didn't know about it? Morgan gave him the option to stay with his mom or come back. Reid knew that if he chose to stay there, you wouldn't think any less of him. None of us would. It's something he is choosing to do and I'm sure he will be expecting you to yell at him when he gets here."

"Damn right I will," said Emily. She squeezed Rossi's hand, "Thank you." She let out a deep sigh. "I feel like such a mess right now."

"One step at a time," said Hotch.

"I agree with that," said Dr. Katz as she walked in. "I've just looked at your x-rays Emily."

Emily nodded, "It's alright to just go ahead with the results. I'll only be telling them anyway."

The doctor nodded, "Alright. It's all good news. You're wrist is sprained so I'm just going to wrap it up and you need to keep that wrapped for a few weeks. As for the ribs, just some bruising as well. If we wrap up your ribs it could add to the pain since it will put pressure on the bruises. You should be fine as long as you don't try to pick anything up, especially with the wrist. I'd recommend that you stay with someone or someone stays with you until your ribs are back to normal."

"I'll be staying with JJ and her family," Emily informed the doctor.

"Perfect," said Dr. Katz. "I'll go and have a nurse set up the supplies to wrap your wrist and get your release papers started."

"Thank you," said Emily.

They all looked to Rossi as his phone rang. "Rossi…Any problems?...thank you… yes, we'll let you know." Rossi looked towards Hotch and gave a small nod to the man.

"What did you do?" Emily asked. "Dave?"

"Nothing bad," answered Rossi. "Patrick has just been picked up by the police."

"What for?" asked Emily.

"Assault of a federal agent," Hotch answered.

"No," said Emily.

"Emily," Morgan tried to reason with his friend.

"No, Morgan. I am not pressing charges," Emily stressed. "It was only one time. An accident."

"It's out of your hands Emily," Morgan countered. "Once the medical report is made there is no need for you to press charges. It's a federal matter, not civil."

Emily started to shift around on the bed. "I have to get out of here."

"Where are you thinking of going?" asked Garcia.

"I need to get to the station. I have to bail him out…and…and…and I need to talk to him." Rossi placed his hands on her shoulders keeping her from moving off the bed. "He's going to be so pissed. He always said that the team would come between us and he was right."

The group just looked on in awe as the usually composed agent started to freak out. JJ gathered herself first and spoke to her friend. "Emily…Emily, look at me." JJ waited for Emily to look her way. "Everything is going to be alright. I'm going to help you. You made the choice to not go back to him and you need to stand by that decision. Take the time and think about it, Em."

Emily's mouth opened to say something, but then she closed it back up. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," Emily whispered as tears filled her eyes.

JJ wrapped her arms around Emily's shoulders, "Hey, it's alright. Shhh. It's all going to be alright."

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**Hope you enjoyed it.**


	5. Questions and Problems

**Wow, I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have updated this story. I promise updates will be more often.**

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JJ looked over at her sleeping friend. Forty minutes ago, the group had all split up. Rossi and Hotch left to go to the police station to start the interview and arrest procedures with Patrick, while Morgan and Garcia went down to the cafeteria.

"How is she doing?" he asked.

JJ looked up as Morgan and Garcia walked back into the room. With a quick glance at Emily, she responded, "She's been a bit restless, but finally settled down once the nurse finished wrapping her wrist. We're just waiting for her release papers. Once they come, I'll wake her, but it I think she can use the rest right now. It's been an emotional day."

"We just spoke with Hotch and Rossi," said Garcia. "Patrick admitted to hitting Emily, but his lawyer got him out on a technicality. Apparently, our lovely rookie friends with the DCPD decided that they didn't need to read him his rights. Rossi and Hotch weren't made aware of that before they got the confession."

"Which is why Patrick sang like a bird about it. He is smart and knew that whatever he said would be inadmissible," added Morgan.

"So the confession goes out the window and all the remains are the medical reports and Emily's statement," concluded JJ.

"If she even gives a statement," said Garcia. "You heard her. Em didn't even want him arrested."

"No statement…"

The group all looked over to see Emily with half opened eyes. JJ stood from her chair, "Em-"

"No, Jayje. I just want to put this behind me and just move on, please."

"Alright," said JJ. "If that's what you want, then we'll do it your way. You're in control, Em."

Emily nodded. "I still love him. I can't help that feeling, but I don't want to go back to him. We've seen too many of these cases where the women return and live a lifetime of abuse. It's going to be hard to get over him. I am going to need help."

"And you will get it," said Morgan. "Anything you need, Princess."

Emememem

One week has passed and Emily's bruises were starting to look better. Her emotional ones, though, were still present as strong as they were the morning she first arrived on JJ's doorstep. Questions and thoughts still floated through her mind: _Has he ever loved me? It was just one time. Does he still love me? It was just one time. How can he say that he loves me and then treat me the way he did? But it was just one time, maybe it won't happen again. It was just one time. Maybe we can make this work. It was just one time. _

She missed the feeling of Patrick's arms around her and his kisses, but she knew that going to Patrick could end up being a mistake that she just couldn't afford to make. Yes, it might have been the case that theirs was a relationship where he would never raise his hand at her again. But, what if it wasn't? No…ending it when she did was the right thing to do. She just had to keep telling herself that until she actually believed it.

And then more questions rushed through her mind. The oh-so-popular 'What if?' questions. _What if he was able to control his anger when he first started to show signs? What if I saw the progression in his anger, and realized that it would lead to violence before it happened? What if I never left to go to JJ's house that morning? What if I went back to him today? _And the, 'What if?' questions were endless.

Emily knew that she could not focus on those questions. They would only just drive her crazy. Instead, she focused on the support that she received from the team. Without JJ and Will being the special people that they were, Emily was sure that she would have given in to those thoughts to return to Patrick the first time they entered her mind. They never pushed Emily to stay away. Instead, they just listened to her ramblings and offered Emily advice when she only asked for it. She was so thankful for them allowing her to stay with them. Even Henry played a special part. He always knew when she would need one of his special hugs to cure her sadness. The rest of the team was just as supportive, always staying just below the annoying side of the line when showing Emily just how much they love her.

Now, she sat on the couch in JJ's living room rereading one of her Kurt Vonnegut books. Henry has been sleeping in his bed for about an hour and JJ and Will left about three hours ago at Emily's insistence for the couple to have a nice dinner alone. She even presented them with a gift certificate to JJ's favorite restaurant. It took several minutes for Emily to convince them that she would be okay and would call them if she needed any help, but she was, thankfully, successful. Emily relished in the comfort that the words in the book brought to her. She enjoyed getting lost in the story.

That enjoyment was cut short by a ringing form her phone indicating that she received a text message.

**We need to talk. Please**

'_Crap,'_ she thought to herself. _'Why did he have to choose now to contact me?' _Emily took a deep breath and closed her eyes before replying to him.

**There is nothing to talk about.**

Her phone buzzed immediately after.

**I'm sorry. I still love you.**

Emily's eyes widened as she red that line. Her hands started to rub her thighs as she nervously reread his message. Her heart started to beat faster as her phone started to ring. Emily looked at the screen. 'Patrick's Cell,' flashed on the front screen. Hoping that she wouldn't be making a big mistake, Emily accepted the call. "Please just leave me alone."

"_Em, I'm sorry."_

"It doesn't change anything, Patrick." Emily stood up and started to pace the living room floor.

"_But, I love you."_

Emily stopped her pacing for a brief moment and gathered her thoughts before continuing her laps around the living room. "You love me? Did you realize that we've been having fights for the last six months? Each one worse than the one before it, until you loss control and hit me."

"_It was only one time, Em. I just loss control the one time."_

Emily's earlier musings came back to haunt her and she realized how ridiculous it would be to give in to that idea. "I'm sorry Patrick, but I cannot go back into that relationship. I will not be that woman who goes back to the abusive man."

"_I am not an abusive man."_

"Did they show you the pictures when they questioned you? Did you even look at the bruises on my wrist and stomach? You put them there."

"_You mean when those cops showed up at your apartment and dragged me away to the police stations where I was interrogated by two members of your team? You know it's all your fault that their week off was ruined."_

"I didn't ask them to go after you. You attacked a federal agent. Once I went to the hospital, a report had to be made and my supervisors were notified."

"_It was your fault. You should have just stayed at home and heal there."_

"Are you serious?"

"_We can be good together, Em. Just let's talk about this." _

Emily couldn't believe the one-eighty change in what Patrick was saying. One second he was being sweet, the next he is getting angry and blaming her for everything that has happened. Now, he is back to being nice. As Patrick continued to apologize and tell her that he loved her, Emily thought she could hear someone outside the front door. As she moved closer she could hear that it was actually Patrick who was right outside the front door. "Where are you Patrick?"

"_Do you really need an answer to that, Em? I know that you are just on the other side of this door. Come on open it up so we can talk."_

Emily hung up the phone and called through the door. "You need to leave here Patrick."

"I know that JJ and Will aren't home. Please just let me in and I'll be gone before they get back," Patrick replied.

"Henry is sleeping upstairs, Patrick. I am not letting you in here."

"Do you think that I am going to hurt you or that little boy?" Patrick asked.

Emily could hear the anger returning to his voice. She started to flash back to the argument they had when Emily returned from the last case. "Patrick, I need you to leave now or I will call the police." Emily was afraid for the safety of the boy sleeping upstairs. She opened her phone and sent out a quick text to JJ.

**Get home quickly. He is outside the front door and won't leave.**

"I am not leaving here until we talk, Em. Let me in." Patrick started to jiggle the doorknob and bang on the front door.

"Aunt Emmy?"

Emily turned towards the stairs to see Henry standing at the bottom. "Henry, please go back upstairs."

Patrick banged on the door again, "Let me in there, Emily."

JJ's reply appeared on Emily's phone.

**We're on the way. I called Morgan.**

"That sounds like Patrick," Henry said with sweet innocence. "He hurt you."

Emily knelt down in front of Henry. "It is him, honey. I need you to do me a huge favor and go back up to your room, okay? Mommy and daddy are on the way home and Patrick will be leaving soon."

Before either one of them could move door busted open.

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**Please let me know what you think.**


	6. Problem Solved

**Thank you so much for all the alerts and reviews!**

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**Henry threw his arms around Emily's neck when the door busted open, "Aunt Emmy!"

Emily looked at the angry glare in Patrick's eyes. She places a kiss on Henry's forehead before quietly whispering, "Go to your room honey and don't come out unless your Mommy, Daddy or I tell you too."

Henry nodded at her and quickly ran up to the stairs.

Satisfied that she was safely out of danger for the moment and in his room, Emily stood up from her crouched position. "You need to leave now Patrick. JJ and Will are on their way home, and I can assure you that the rest of the team and the police have been notified." Emily felt the fear returning to her that she was plagued with the night he hit her. "Please, just go."

"Do you know how humiliating it was to be dragged into that police station in handcuffs? You had me arrested!"

Emily pivoted her body so that her back was facing the entrance to the living room. Patrick followed her mimicked her motions and also took a step closer to her. "I did not have you arrested. I told them to leave you alone. I stopped Derek from going after you."

"And that is supposed to make me feel better?" He took a step closer to Emily, causing her to take a step back. "Am I supposed to just forgive you for the embarrassment you caused me? For the threats your teammates gave me to stay away from you?"

The fear Emily had started to increase as his voice rose louder with each sentence. She prayed for her friends to get there soon. Out of the corner of her eye, Emily spotted one of Henry's toys and knew that she had to do whatever she could to ensure his safety. She owed that much to JJ and Will. 'Just keep him talking,' she advised herself. 'Don't say anything to set him off. What the hell am I thinking? Anything that I say will set him off. '

"Are you going to answer me, Emily?"

His voice pulled Emily out from her inner monologue. "No, Patrick. It wasn't meant to make you feel better. It is the truth. You hurt me. You constantly belittled my career choice and got angry with me when I would come home late or if I was too damn tired to give you a call before I went to sleep. It got so bad that your anger turned to violence."

Patrick quickly closed the distance between them and before Emily could defend herself, he slapped her across the cheek. "It wasn't my anger that turned to violence. It was your incompetence to pay me the respect that I am owed and let me know that you are safe and on your way home."

Emily was able to keep her balance, even though the force of his attack made her wobble. She lifted two fingers toward her cheek and felt some wetness. Bringing them to her line of sight, she saw blood resting on them. She looked up towards Patrick with a confused glance. "_The respect that you are owed?_ Do you even hear what you are saying?" Emily felt the fire ignite inside of her as her courage to stand up to him intensified. "Blaming me for your fist connecting with my ribs and the bruises on my wrist from when I tried to get away from you!" She held up her wrist, showing her bruises to him hoping to prove her point, before she once again wiped the blood from the newly formed cut on her cheek. Emily let out a deep sigh. "I am so tired of this Patrick. I am tired of you blaming me for all of your troubles. I am tired of being on the receiving end of your verbal and physical attacks. I am tired of feeling conflicted in my emotions over you. It's all over now, Patrick." They could hear the sirens of the approaching police cars. "When I found out that the rookie cop made the mistake of not reading you your rights and you were released, I knew that the only way for you to get any jail time was if I pressed charges. I refused to do that though. I kept telling myself that it was only one time and that you would never do it again. I nearly had myself convinced enough to go back to you. Then I just wanted to move passed everything and move on with my life." She shook her head. "I know and see now what a fool I would have been. You can bet that when those cops get in here, proper protocol will be filed. You will be arrested for the assault of an FBI agent, breaking and entering and endangering the life of a minor."

Patrick just stood there in shock as he watched Emily talk back to him. '_How dare she!'_ he thought to himself. His head shot up as he heard the sirens getting close to the house. When Emily finished talking, he stepped closer to her. A smirk appeared on his face when she didn't even flinch or step back. "That fire in your eyes is what I fell in love with when I first saw you."

"Back away from me Patrick," said Emily.

"Or what?" he asked her.

Emily didn't answer him, instead she just placed her hands on his shoulders and raised her knee up hard to connect with his groin. She heard an "oomph" escape his mouth and as he fell to his knees she stepped around him to quickly move away from him. Of course, Patrick had other plans as he reached out and grabbed her ankle. Emily lost her balance and fell to the floor landing on her bruised wrist. She cried out at the pain. For sure, it was broken now. Emily rolled onto her back as Patrick regained his breath and stood up. He looked down at Emily. "You are going to pay for that."

Emily could see him raise his foot and swing it back. She closed her eyes and anticipated the pain his kick would have made on her body. But it never came. Instead, Emily heard a struggle and as she opened her eyes she saw Morgan restraining him with the help of two officers. She looked to the person kneeling by her side and could see JJ's lips moving as she talked to her. "Are you okay, Em?"

"Henry. He is up in his room," Emily moved to sit up but forgot about her injured wrist and cried out as she put some weight on it.

"Easy," advised JJ. "I think it's broken."

"You have to get to Henry. He is scared and up in his room." Emily watched as Morgan read Patrick his rights.

"It's alright, Emily. Will went up to get Henry. Come on, I'll help you sit up." JJ placed her arm around Emily and helped her friend to sit up. Tears filled Emily's eyes as her wrist throbbed. "Are you hurt anywhere else besides your wrist or cheek?"

Emily shook her head. "No. He slapped me. He got close to me and I kneed him and when he went down I tried to go around him, but he grabbed my ankle. I fell onto my wrist. I think I might have banged my ribs a bit that were already bruised, but nothing seriously."

"Mommy!" Emily and JJ turned to see Henry running towards them. "Mommy, Patrick broke the door and Aunt Emmy told me to run to my room and not to come out unless you or Daddy or Aunt Emmy told me it was okay. And I did. I waited and Daddy came just like Aunt Emmy said he would."

Emily wiped the tear from her eyes as the young boy explained. "Yes, he did baby," said JJ. "Mommy is so proud of you."

Henry turned his head to look at Emily. "Are you okay Aunt Emmy? I heard you and Patrick screaming."

Emily pulled Henry in for a hug with her unharmed arm. "I am fine. I am sorry you had to hear us yelling, but I am so proud of you for being so strong and for listening to what I asked you to do."

"You're bleeding," the young boy observed. His tiny hand reached up towards her face. Emily could see JJ about to stop him, but she sent her friend a smile reassuring her that it was alright. Emily knew that this was something that Henry needed to do.

"It's just a small cut, and I am going to be fine."

"We should get you to the hospital," said JJ. The blonde could see an argument on its way from Emily and quickly headed it off. "Do not tell me that you don't need to go, Em. Your wrist needs to be set, that cut needs to be cleaned and bandaged and you should get those ribs checked out to make sure that there is no further complications. You've got three options 1) I help you off the floor and you walk out on your own to Morgan's car, 2) Morgan carries you out to his car…"

"And don't think I won't, Princess," adds Morgan.

"…or 3) I call the ambulance and let them take you into the hospital that way."

"Okay, okay. Help me up and I'll go with you. Slave driver." Emily finished the last comment with a small smile and a wink at JJ.

JJ laughed at her friend, "Just be glad that I didn't threaten to sick Pen on you." A small horrified look appeared on Emily's face causing JJ and Morgan to laugh at her discomfort.

After helping Emily to stand, JJ gave Henry and Will a kiss and promised to call Will after Emily was examined. As they approached the front door, Emily looked at the damage from when it was forced in. "Oh, Jayje, your door. I'm so sor-"

"Emily Prentiss, don't you dare try and apologize for something that you had no control over."

"He wanted me to open the door. If I had just opened it…"

"Emily." She looked at Morgan when he called her name. "Do you have any idea what he was about to do before we got here?" Not waiting for her answer he continued. "He was about to land a kick to your side. That would have easily cracked or broke one of your ribs. I know you Em, I'm guessing you tried to talk him down. Maybe even convince him to just leave the house." Emily looked down and nodded, not being able to take her eyes off of the wrecked door. "If you had let him in instead of him busting down that door, that would have given him more time to be in this house. Time where he could have hurt you more or even hurt Henry." Emily's head shot up at him and she turned to look at the little boy clinging to his father.

"So he broke that door, Emily. That's easily replaced and a much better result than you being hurt any more than you are or my boy being hurt," added Will. "Replacing that door is a small price for JJ and I to pay for you protecting him."

"You are not paying for a new door," said Emily. "I won't let you do that."

"We'll argue more about that once we get you to the hospital," said JJ as she pushed her friend out of the door.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled in to the Emergency Room parking lot. Emily looked out the window and recognized Garcia and Reid's cars. "You called everyone?"

Morgan gave Emily a hard, but amused look. "Family, Em. Full support."

Emily nodded and opened her front door. They were greeted at the curb by Sally and Dr. Katz. "Agent Prentiss, I can't say that I am happy to see you back here," said the doctor with a smile. "Let's get you inside and checked out. Agent Jareau you can come with us and Agent Morgan the rest of your friends are in the waiting room. I am sure that they would like to know how she is doing." The two agents nodded at the doctor and Morgan squeezed Emily's shoulder before leaving to fill the others in on what happened.

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**I'd love to hear what you thought.**


	7. A Talk With Rossi

**So sorry for the delay...had another story picking at my brain...lol. Go check it out. It is up now and called, "Her Sad Return." It is about Emily's return.**

**Now, onto another chapter of this story. I hope to update more frequently.**

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Thirty minutes after arriving at the hospital, JJ joined the team in the waiting room. "How is she?" asked Morgan.

"She's Emily," joked JJ. "Insisting that she is fine and that she just wants to go home." The group all chuckled. "She's getting the cast put on her wrist right now. It's definitely broken, and I have no idea how she didn't hurt her ribs any worse than they already are."

Hotch looked up at her, "I talked with DCPD while you were inside and the District Attorney. Patrick is being charged with two counts of Assualt on a Federal Agent and Breaking and Entering. A crime scene unit is at your house as we speak and someone will be by as soon as they finish to fix the front door."

"Thanks Hotch."

"Hey."

The group all turned to see Emily standing at the entrance to the waiting room. "How are you doing, Peaches," asked Garcia.

"I'm alright, Pen. Just a bit tired," Emily answered.

"Well then let's get you home," said JJ. Emily looked down at her feet. "What's wrong, Em?"

Emily bit her lower lip and looked up at her friend with unsure eyes, "Would you mind if I just went back to my place tonight?"

"Are you sure you want that?" asked Rossi.

Emily nodded. "I just want to be in my own bed tonight."

"Em, you don't need my permission to go back to your own place," JJ smiled at her. "You are welcome to stay with us as long as you want and need to, but if you want to go back to your place, I won't stop you."

"Thank you," said Emily.

"Come on, Kid, I'll give you a lift," said Rossi. Emily gave a small nod.

"Princess, we're a phone call away," said Morgan.

Emily turned towards him and gave a small nod. "I know…thank you."

The remaining team members watched Emily and Rossi leave the room. "I'm worried about her," said Reid.

"She'll be alright," said Garcia. "We'll just have to make sure of that."

Thirty minutes later, Emily and Rossi arrived back at her condo. She didn't protest when he accompanied her to her front door, nor when he walked inside to place her bag on the floor near the stairs. Rossi watched as Emily walked over to the big, picture window that looked out over the DC skyline. "What are you thinking, Emily?" he asked. Emily just stares out the window absorbed in the scenery. "Don't do this, Emily. Don't internalize your feelings. Don't shove them in your boxes."

Emily glared at Rossi's reflection in the window. "What do you want me to say?"

"Tell me how you feel."

"How I feel." Emily let out a small chuckle and shook her head. "It's not worth it."

"That is where you are wrong, Emily. You are very much worth it. You just need to take the time to let yourself believe it. When that time comes, I will be here to listen to it all.

Emily looked down at the floor. "I should have expected this to turn out this way."

"I care about you Emily. We all do. That's why I am asking these questions. You need to realize that everyone on this team loves you. You are a part of our family."

"I know that Dave. That's not what I was referring to when I said that I should have expected this."

Rossi took a small step forward. "Okay. Do you want to explain further?"

Emily turned and sat down on her couch, placing her hands in her hands. She let out a deep sigh and a slight groan. Rossi was about to change the subject expecting that she wasn't ready to answer his question when he heard her soft reply, "I am a guarded person."

'_No shit,'_ thought Rossi.

"I have trust issues, especially when it comes to men. That's why I never open myself fully to anyone. Yeah, I'd let little pieces out, but never everything. There were only five people in my life that I showed myself completely - my parents, John, Matthew and Patrick." Rossi didn't need any elaboration as to who John and Matthew are. He remembers almost vividly the case that involved Emily's friends. He joined her on the couch, making sure to sit at the far end and giving her the space she needed to feel comfortable to continue. "My father got tired of my mother always putting her career before her family and he just left us when I was twelve. I never heard from him again. My mother pretty much toted me around as a symbol that women can work and have children too. Meanwhile, she never really cared for me. My nanny was more of a mother to me than she was." Emily reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Rossi wanted so badly to just pull her into a hug, but he knew that she needed to continue. Whatever she was feeling right now was eating her up inside and she needed to get it out if she was ever going to fully heal. Emily continued, "John…well…I never said it, but I guess you were able to figure out that he was the one who got me pregnant when I was fifteen, and Matthew…ugh…my problems screwed him up. I lead him to question his thoughts on the church and to do drugs. That ended in his death. With Patrick, I thought my luck had changed completely. I was so happy and so much in love. He was perfect. It was all so perfect and then this happened." Emily finished talking barely in a whisper, with tears streaming down her face.

Rossi slowly slid across the seat cushions and watched her for any signs that would tell him to stay away, but none came. When he was next to her, he reached out and pulled Emily into a comforting hug. Emily lost all of the composure that she had left once his arms wrapped around her body. Her body shook with sobs as she cried for all of the heartaches in her life. All that Rossi could do was to rub her back soothingly and whisper words of encouragement into her ear until she calmed down.

Emily pulled out of the embrace once she regained her control. It was easy to see the shame in her eyes that she felt for breaking down in front of her friend. Rossi took her hand in his and spoke softly, "Emily, I need you to listen to me, really listen okay?" Emily nodded as she wiped the lingering tears from her eyes. "Crying doesn't make you weak. No one thinks or will ever think any less of you because of it, at least, no one who truly cares for you. You don't always need to keep those protective walls up around you. Myself and the team are here to support you with anything you need. You just have to allow yourself to ask for it. And when you don't ask, we'll be there to offer it to you, annoying you like crazy until you let us." That got a small chuckle and smile from Emily and Rossi inwardly patted himself on the back for accomplishing that. "I have no doubt that you have the ability to find someone to love and he will treat you with the upmost respect that you deserve." Rossi could see the doubt in her eyes. He squeezed her hand. "It will happen, when your heart and mind are ready for it, it will happen. Now…why don't you go up and take a shower and try to get some rest. I'm sure the hot water will help with your sore muscles and it will do you some good to sleep in your own bed. I'll be down here if you need me."

Emily shook her head, "You don't have to…"

"I'm not leaving here," Dave said. "I won't get in your way. I just want for you to have someone around for if and when you feel the need to talk with someone. I can get someone else from the team to come instead if you rather, but I really suggest that you not be alone at least for tonight."

Silence filled the room as Emily thought over what he had just said. She was sure that there would be nightmares once he finally convinced herself to fall asleep. Maybe him staying there would not be such a bad idea. Rossi has been more of a father to her then her biological one. Giving a quick nod, she stood slowly from the couch and whispered, "Thank you."

"I'll be here if you need me," Rossi assured her. Nothing more was said as she slowly made the way up the stairs and into her bedroom.

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**So, what did you think?**


	8. The Next Day

**UGH...I hate it when other things in life mess with my chance to write!**

**This story is winding down. Only a few chapters left.**

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The sunlight hit Emily's face and woke her from her not-so-sound sleep. Her eyes fell on the clock by her bed and she mumbled out a slight curse. It had only been two hours since she was finally able to get to sleep after being woken by a nightmare. A soft snore from the corner of the room startled her, and she turned towards the noise.

Sitting there asleep in the chair was Rossi. Emily remembered that he had come into her room and comforted her through the nightmare. It was a bad one and Emily just couldn't stop crying. Rossi tried to get her to calm down and talk about it, but she refused and eventually just fell back asleep exhausted from crying. Quietly, Emily stood from her bed and went downstairs to her kitchen.

Upon entering the room, she could smell the welcoming aroma of a freshly brewed pot of coffee. Once again she thanked JJ for giving her a fantastic coffee machine that had a timer on it. As long as she prepped it before she went to bed, it never failed to give her the much needed caffeine boost when she woke up.

As she finished pouring her first cup of coffee, she heard Rossi coming down the stairs and retrieved another mug to pour him a cup as well. With a grateful smile, he accepted the cup and said, "Good Morning."

Emily gave a slight nod, "Morning."

"How are you feeling today?" he asked as they both sat down at her kitchen table.

"Sore…both physically and emotionally," Emily answered.

"The physical pain just needs some time to get better, and you have those pain pills they gave you to keep you comfortable. The emotional ones…they take time as well, but what helps it along is talking about them." He could see the discomfort she has about talking out her feelings from the movements her body is making. "If not to me or JJ or anyone else on the team, you should see someone. The bureau has therapists on staff. Hell, you know that Hotch won't let you return until you've been cleared by one anyway so talk to one of them."

"It's all too painful to think about. I don't think that I can do it."

"Start small then. Tell me about the nightmare you had last night."

Tears pooled in Emily's eyes as she remembered what her dream was about last night. "Henry and I were finishing the movie that we were watching. Patrick started knocking on the door. It was just like it happening last night. I yelled at him to leave, but he wouldn't. I sent JJ the text that he was there and she said she was coming. I rushed Henry to the stairs and told him to go to his room. Then everything changed. Patrick broke down the door sooner and Henry wasn't able to get to his room. I pushed him behind my body and begged Patrick to not hurt him." Tears were running down Emily's face as she explained the dream. "Patrick punched me in the face and I lost my balanced and stumbled to the side falling down. Henry moved towards my head and was calling my name. I heard him crying and yelling at Patrick. 'You hurt Aunt Emmy!' I don't know what happened next, but I heard Henry scream. I heard the contact his body made with the floor. Wh…when I lifted my head from the floor I…I saw him lying motionless with bl…blood coming from his head. I started to cry."

"Shhh…It's okay Em. None of that happened. You know that," Rossi tried to soothe her.

Emily shook her head and wiped her tears, "No, it's not okay. It felt so real, Rossi. It didn't stop there. Patrick started to laugh when he saw how upset I was. He started to kick me in the side. JJ and Will arrived with Morgan. Morgan got Patrick away from me and JJ and Will crouched down at Henry and started to cry. JJ turned to me and she told me that it was all my fault and that she hated me and never wanted to speak with me again."

"It was all fake, Emily. Your mind was playing a really stupid and hurtful trick on you. You protected Henry. He got to his room before Patrick got into the house and the only real damage done was their front door and your broken wrist, and we are all grateful to be able to say that. The door can be replaced and your wrist will heal." He knew that she was aware of this and that it if it took him repeating this to her one hundred times until she finally believed him, than he would do just that.

Emily gave a small nod as she took another sip of her coffee. "Do you think he's alright? I mean Henry. Do you think that he was able to sleep last night? Do you think seeing me would make him upset?" Emily couldn't bring herself to look away from her coffee mug. She was afraid to see the answers to her question that would shine from Rossi's eyes.

"Emily, look at me." It took her a few moments, but she finally raised her head. "I am sure that he is just fine. JJ and Will are going to make sure of that. As far as the nightmares go, I can't imagine a kid his age not having them. I do know that JJ told me how worried he was about you." Emily let out a small smile. "It's true, Em. When you were getting that cast put on, Will called JJ's phone because Henry had to talk to her. He begged his father to make the call so that he could hear from his mother that you were going to be alright. You are like a second other to him. He was as worried about you as we all were and still are."

"You're sure?" Emily asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

She didn't have to elaborate on what part of his statement that she was asking about. Rossi knew that Emily was aware of the team's concern for her. Her insecurity of the love and concern she received from the little boy was flowing from her body. "I'm positive. Why don't you go on up and take a relaxing shower and get dressed? Maybe that will help you feel better."

Emily nodded as she finished her cup of coffee. "Alright. I think I will do just that. You don't have to stay Rossi."

"I like the view. Think I'll stay here a bit more and enjoy it." Rossi said with a smile.

Emily placed her hand on his shoulder and gave a small nod. She knew that he wasn't going to leave her alone and she was grateful for the company. After placing her mug in the sink, she walked up to her bedroom and picked out some comfortable clothes to wear before she started her shower.

Rossi sighed as he heard the shower turn on. He felt so badly for the way Emily was feeling. He picked up his phone to arrange the one thing he knew would make her day feel better.

"_Hey Rossi, how is Emily?"_

Rossi smiled at the shared concern the team all felt for their friend. "She had a tough night. Woke up with a nightmare and it played a bit with her emotions. How is Henry doing?"

"_He woke up once during the night, but he was able to get back to sleep. He keeps asking me if he will be seeing Emily soon."_

"I think seeing each other is something that they both need. Would you and Will mind bringing him over to Em's place? I would drive her there but…"

"_But you're not sure how she would react to coming back here so soon."_

"Yeah. It was a tough nightmare for her. I think she really needs to see that Henry is alright and she needs to be reminded that you are not mad at her for what happened."

He could hear the surprise in JJ's voice as she answered, _"Why would I be mad at her?"_

Rossi sighed and told JJ about Emily's nightmare. When he finished he added, "She's in the shower now so I just thought that I would give you guys a call and see if there was something we could do to try and cheer her up and I think you coming over with Henry is just what she needs."

"_I agree. We'll be there in a couple of hours. Will is just finishing making us some breakfast and then we'll get Henry ready and come by."_

"That sounds great. I'll see you later." Rossi waited for her reply before he hung up the phone and decided to follow Will's example and started to make breakfast for the two of them.

Fifteen minutes later, he heard Emily coming down the stairs. She had a small smirk on her face as she said, "You talk me through my drama and you cook too! Careful Rossi I might not ever let you leave."

Rossi gave her a small chuckle. "You are feeling better I see. The shower helped. Thank you for what you said earlier, it did help." She took the plate of food that Rossi offered her and breathed in the scents of the cooked breakfast. "Mmm this smells good."

"It's just eggs and bacon. Nothing too gourmet about it," Rossi replied with amusement.

"Ah see that's where you are wrong. Food always seems to smell and taste better when someone else cooks it for you." Her smile turned to a frown has Rossi also placed her pill bottle on the table. "Way to ruin the mood, Rossi."

He shrugged his shoulders and sat down at the table with her. "You need to eat them with something in your stomach. I'm just making sure that you don't have to move far to get them once you've eaten."

"And you want to make sure that I actually take them," she replied.

"Are you claiming that I think you are too stubborn to take your pain medications?" Rossi asked with a fake hurt in his voice. "You are an FBI agent. We all follow doctor's orders when it comes to take medications. None of us are too stubborn." Emily swatted his arm with her good hand. "Hey," he cried painfully.

"Oh hush you," she said with a small laugh. "I would have hit you with the other one, but I was afraid it would really hurt me more than it hurt you." She clutched her stomach where her ribs were bruised as she had the painful reminder that laughing too much was just not possible right now. "Thank you."

Rossi just gave a smile and a nod. There were so many small thank yous wrapped into that one sentence that fell from Emily's mouth. He caught each and every one of them.

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**Up next, JJ, Will and Henry visit Emily.**

**Let me know what you think.**


	9. It's Going To All Be Okay

**Here is the conclusion to this story. Emily and Henry see each other! Thank you for all of the Alerts and Reviews for this story.**

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Two hours after eating breakfast, Emily fell asleep on the couch. Rossi received a text from JJ saying that they were on their way to visiting Emily. He had replied to her that Emily had just laid down to take a nap and that it would probably be better if they just walked in instead of ringing the doorbell or knocking. JJ agreed and promised that she would send him a text when they arrived at Emily's condo.

Rossi looked up and smiled as Emily's front door opened to reveal the visitors. He scooped up Henry into his arms and asked him, "How are you doing, buddy?"

"Good," Henry answered. "Mommy said that we could come by and visit Aunt Emmy. How come you're here? Is she okay?" Rossi felt his heart melt at the sincerity in the little boy's voice.

"She's fine, Henry. She's just taking a short nap on the couch and I was here to help her out and keep her company," Rossi answered.

"That's good," said the little boy. "Aunt Emmy needs all of us. I drew her a picture after I ate breakfast. Mommy did you remember the picture?"

Henry looked towards JJ with a questioning look that made JJ giggle before she held the paper up for him to see, "I got it right here, baby."

"Let's go into the kitchen," suggested Rossi.

"How is she doing?" asked Will as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"A little better from when she woke up this morning," Rossi answered. "She's been asleep for about a half hour now. I don't expect her to be sleeping much longer."

"Nightmares?" asked JJ.

Rossi nodded his head. "Afraid so."

"I had bad dreams last night," said Henry, "but Mommy and Daddy came into my room and they hugged me and told me that it was all just a dream and not real. Did you do that for Aunt Emmy?"

Rossi nodded, "I did."

"Good. 'Cause Aunt Emmy needs someone to be nice to her because Patrick hurt her."

As if her mind could hear and understand the conversation that was taking place in the next room, Emily started to be plagued by an all-too-familiar nightmare. The group in the kitchen could hear her cries and pleas. "Leave him alone, Patrick. He's just a child. Don't hurt him."

"I got this," JJ said as she stood up from the table and hurried into the living room to her friend's side.

Emily continued struggling through her nightmare. "Stop it… You're hurting him."

"Emily, it's just a dream. You need to wake up, honey," JJ called out to her, as she sat on the table in front of the couch.

Emily abruptly sat up as she screamed, "HENRY!" She hid her face in her hands and started to cry as she mumbled, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Em, it's okay. It was just a nightmare," said JJ as she tried to comfort her friend.

Emily looked up at JJ. "JJ?" she questioned.

"It's alright, Em."

"I'm so sorry, JJ. I tried to protect him. You have to believe me."

JJ felt tears fill her eyes as she heard the anguish in Emily's voice. "You did, Em. You protected Henry."

Emily shook her head. "No. Patrick hurt him and I couldn't stop him. He's dead and I couldn't save him! How can you sit there and be so comforting when I caused your son to be in so much pain. You should be mad at me and telling me that you never want to see me again."

"No, no, Emily that was all a dream, a horrible nightmare. Henry is fine. You saved him. You sent him up to his bedroom and Will got to him and Henry was not hurt. He's okay, and you saw that he was okay right before you went to the hospital to get checked out."

Emily shook her head, "I saw him laying on the floor."

"It was a dream, Emily. I can prove it to you. Henry is here. Do you want to see him?"

"Henry's here?" Emily whispered, tears still running down her face.

"He is," JJ gave a comforting smile to her friend. "Henry, come join us," JJ called out towards the kitchen.

The sound of little feet running announced his presence just before the shout, "Aunt Emmy, you're awake!"

"Henry!" Emily smile widened as the boy ran towards her and jumped on the couch next to her. Emily held onto him as tight as she could. "You're alive."

Henry giggled, "Of course I am."

"I thought Patrick hurt you," said Emily as tears filled her eyes.

Henry shook his head. "He was scary, but I ran to my room just like you said. I could hear you yelling downstairs, but you said to stay in my room till you or Mommy or Daddy came and got me, so I stayed there. I was very scared but then Daddy came home and it was all over."

Emily just hugged him again and the other adults had small smiles on their faces at the innocence of the young boy. "It was just a nightmare," whispered Emily.

"It was," said JJ as she moved to sit down on the couch next to her friend and pulled her into a comforting embrace. "Henry, why don't you go and get the picture that you made for Emily."

"Okay," said Henry as he removed himself from Emily's grasp and ran to the kitchen.

"You okay?" JJ asked Emily.

Emily nodded as she looked towards the doorway that Henry just left from. "It was so real. I thought…I don't know what I would have done if anything happened to him Jayje."

"There is no need to worry about that," answered JJ.

"She's right, Emily." Emily looked towards the two men in the room. She hadn't even realized that they were there until Will spoke. "He's alright. You made sure of that. Our boy is safe because you sent him up to his room before Patrick could get into the house.

"You okay, Em?" asked JJ.

Emily shook her head as she looked at the cast on her arm. "I think it will take some time, but I'm going to be fine. With some help, everything will be okay." Emily took JJ's hand in her own. "I don't know how to even begin to thank you for pushing me to see what was going on with Patrick. You saved me from being hurt worse than I am. We've all seen how bad domestic abuse situations could get. I thought it was only one time, an isolated incident. It was your support, all of your support, that helped me through this, and I have no doubt you will all be there, by my side, as I continue to heal. You guys are more than my friends, you're my family. I haven't felt so close to people in a really long time."

JJ reached up and wiped the tears from Emily's eyes with her thumb before she repeated the same motion to her own eyes. "And you are family to us, Em. You do what you need to, to protect the ones you love. I said that to Pen after I shot Battle in the BAU bullpen. Even if it didn't come down to having to shoot and kill Patrick to protect you, being there to give you the emotional support that you needed was enough to give you the choice to stand up for yourself."

"We will always be here for you, Emily," said Rossi as he sat down at Emily's free side on the couch.

They turned towards the doorway as they saw Henry running back into the room with his picture clasped in his hands. "See, Aunt Emmy, I drew you a picture."

"I love it," said Emily as she let a wide smile appear on her face. Everything is going to be alright now. She can move on and heal, both physically and emotionally. Patrick can't hurt her anymore. She is healing.

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**I hope that you've enjoyed this. Let me know what you think of it.**


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